EDINBURGH 2023: Review: OLAF FALAFEL: LOOK WHAT FELL OUT OF MY HEAD, Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree

What do bananas, parcels, and a tit on a stick have in common? They all play crucial roles in Olaf Falafel: Look What Fell Out of My Head. I had seen Olaf at the VAULT Festival in Ben Van der Velde’s show, Fablemaker, where he drew the events of the show as they occurred, so I decided I would check out Olaf’s solo show. I’m so glad I did, because it is a delightful hour of absurdist comedy that will have you in tears (and maybe a state of confusion). 

Do you like puns and terrible, terrible dad jokes? You’re in for a treat. To quote Olaf himself, “You’ve groaned at every single one [joke] but you love them, don’t you?” Indeed, not matter how cheesy they may be (sometimes literally, as seen in a few rounds of “Cheese of Truth”), Olaf’s jokes never failed to make me laugh, even if a few jokes made me groan as well. 

Olaf begins his show with an outline of what is going to be included - “Pass the Parcel,” “2 Favourite Jokes,” “House Prices,” “Don’t Look at the Horse,” “Live Colonoscopy,” “Biscuitology,” and, to end the show, “Tit on A Stick.” All of these titles were quite literal, which is surprising for an absurdist comedian. But somehow, the directness works, and even though you have an idea of what’s coming, it’s still hilarious and often surprising. 

If another comedian had been repeating the same bit over and over again between subjects, it probably would’ve quickly gotten old, but with Olaf Falafel, even if a gag is used twenty times within the same show it will still generate a laugh. The “mind reading mic stand” is brought back every few minutes and it still managed to crack me up multiple times. 

Ultimately, Olaf Falafel: Look What Fell Out of My Head is a fun show that will have you obsessed with Olaf’s absurdist humour and maybe leaving feeling just a little bit better about the world around you. 

Olaf Falafel: Look What Fell Out of My Head runs at the Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, Main Room at 15:45 from 11 to 27 August (no performance on 16 August).

Photo Credit: Alan Powdrill

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